Sponsor

Sponsor

Bonding bill, Take 1: Plan advancing minus Pawlenty blessing

After being stuck in neutral for weeks, a bill
financing state construction projects is ready for final House and
Senate votes on Wednesday. But they probably won't be the last
votes.

Legislators are prepared to send Gov. Tim Pawlenty a bill much
bigger than he insists he'll accept and without some of his
public-works priorities.

Sen. Keith Langseth and Rep. Alice Hausman, the Legislature's
lead negotiators, said discussions involving the governor bogged
down and lawmakers are moving ahead knowing their bill is in
danger.

Minnesota State CapitolMPR Photo/Tom Weber

Pawlenty has the power to trim the bill himself through
line-item vetoes, but the GOP governor said the DFL-controlled
Legislature shouldn't bank on it.

"We've repeatedly warned them not to assume that and the whole
bill could be vetoed on the theory that we're not going to clean up
their bill for them," he said.

The plan authorizes $925 million in general state debt plus
millions more that would be paid for out of other pots of money,
such as matching dollars colleges must provide. All told, it gives
approval to more than $1.08 billion worth of construction.

The bonding bill helps pay for upgrades on college campuses,
finances new and repaired sewer lines, bolsters flood control and
covers costs for hockey arena and civic center expansions.

The main dispute is somewhat philosophical. Minnesota has long
held its debt load under 3 percent of its general treasury
spending. Under those guidelines, the Pawlenty administration says
the bill shouldn't exceed $825 million because $60 million in bonds
were authorized in the recently enacted transportation finance law.

Langseth and Hausman said they could pass a bigger bill and
remain under the cap if the bond sale is spread out over time. The
important thing, Hausman said, is giving the green light to
construction projects when builders are hurting and interest rates
are low.

"In this economy," she said, "putting more people to work
right now is a good thing."

Aside from their dispute over the size, there are disagreements
over what is included and omitted from the revised bill.

It lacks money for the creation of a new state park at Lake
Vermilion and a new Minneapolis veterans home building, both of
which Pawlenty wants.

Pawlenty said exclusion of the veterans home was "a reflection
of some really deeply misplaced priorities." Langseth said he
doesn't think the $26 million project is ready to go.

Pawlenty's finance commissioner, Tom Hanson, refused to tell
lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday what projects the governor would get
rid of to bring down the bill's size and make room for his
priorities.

That's been a point of frustration to DFL legislators.

"If I was to add up all the projects he said he supported, it
would probably be $3 billion," said Rep. Loren Solberg of Grand
Rapids.